The Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (ATC) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore arrested two human traffickers involved in the Greek ship tragedy, Express News reported.
The two individuals, classified as highly wanted criminals, were arrested during operations targeting traffickers linked to the tragic incident.
According to the FIA, following the arrest of two immigration officers posted at Faisalabad airport, the scope of investigations was expanded. Raids are being carried out in Gujranwala and Faisalabad to arrest other traffickers accused in cases related to human trafficking.
The FIA crackdown comes following the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has emphasized adopting a strict strategy against human trafficking and those involved. The agency has launched operations against traffickers involved in several cases, including the Greek ship tragedy.
The two arrested traffickers were involved in illegally sending four people to Italy in exchange for a sum of Rs 8.8 million. Tragically, two of those people, Hamad and Khawar, died in the boat accident.
The FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (ATC) in Lahore arrested one of the traffickers, Nawaz Sansi, in Farooqabad, while another, notorious fugitive Naveed Shah, was detained in Nankana Sahib. Both men were involved in the illegal migration operation that led to the boat tragedy.
Also, Gujranwala FIA Zone arrested another highly wanted trafficker, Muhammad Suleman, who is listed in the Red Book.
Suleman was involved in more than seven human trafficking cases, with charges filed by the Gujrat Composite Circle in 2023. Suleman had defrauded victims of millions of rupees, promising to send them to Europe and then helped them travel through Libya. , Egypt and Dubai.
Authorities revealed that 18 passengers involved in the Greek ship tragedy had traveled from Faisalabad airport. The tragic incident occurred last week when a boat carrying migrants en route to Greece capsized.
